Grade Configuration: Who Goes Where?

The Northwest Sampler - Alaska

Location
Girdwood School
P.O. Box 189
Girdwood, AK 99587

Contact
Jim Cox, Principal
Phone: 907/742-5300
Fax: 907/742-5320

Grade span: K-8
Girdwood, Alaska, is a ski resort and bedroom community 30 miles from Anchorage. Girdwood Elementary is a K-8 school with 142 students. Though all grades are housed in one building, the seventh and eighth grades are run in a manner similar to a junior high, separate from the other grades.

Younger Girdwood students spend most of the day in self-contained classrooms. Specialists are in charge of P.E., music, and the library. Junior high students begin the day in one room with 20 to 30 minutes of planning, then group and regroup for classes on a flexible schedule. For the most part the seventh- and eighth- graders are grouped together based on personalities—which students cooperate and work well with each other. Arrangements vary depending on the year's enrollment. The teachers (1.5 FTE) do some teaming on particular units of study, depending on the subject and the interests of the students. The school is currently considering, and the principal favors, combining the sixth, seventh, and eighth grades for greater flexibility in scheduling and to better use staff skills and expertise.

The school is too small to offer ongoing elective classes, but teachers try to make arrangements for independent study or community experiences based on students' individual interests. Though the school has its own library, a municipal library attached to the school building is a useful resource for students, especially those at the junior high level.

Girdwood has high parent involvement, which adds tremendous resources and support to the school. This involvement does not drop off in the middle grades as often happens when students attend stand-alone middle schools. Parents help out with activities such as sports, spelling bees, reading programs, and a Career Day for junior high students. Teachers know the families in Girdwood and look out for all the students. Raising children is truly a community process.

After eighth grade, Girdwood students must make a 1.5 hour bus ride every morning to the nearest high school. During the year Girdwood teachers have ongoing dialogue with those at the high school about individual students and which programs and courses would be most appropriate in high school. The community is discussing adding a ninth grade to Girdwood Elementary, and possibly the other three high school grades, so that students would not have to make the long commute.

Observed Outcomes

• Some children become too familiar with the school setting and don't expand their horizons socially and academically; they don't get exposure to a wide array of teachers, teaching styles, and specialty fields
• High school teachers report to Girdwood staff that, in general, Girdwood students perform well
• Parents of students at all grade levels are very involved with the school

Keys to Success

• The staff communicates well with each other and with the community
• The staff is flexible and willing to take on new challenges and responsibilities
• The school's smallness results in a family atmosphere; the principal feels the K-8 school might not work as well with a larger enrollment because younger children might feel overwhelmed
• The school receives much support and help from parents and other community members